Seesaw



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. J. HATCH.

SEBSAW.

No. 477,052. Patented June 14, 1892.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2, O. J. HATCH.

SEESAW.

(No Model.)

No. 477.052. i Patented June 14, 18-92" NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES J. HATCH, OF BAYONNE, NEIV JERSEY.

SEESAW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 477,052, dated June 14, 1892.

Application filed February 4, 1892. $erial No. 4 N mod-0L) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. HATCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bayonne, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seesaws; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of toy devices commonly known as seesaws, the object of the invention being to provide a portable toy which can be easily taken apart and put together again, and which thus can be readily packed for transportation from place to place when desired, and will prove a useful calisthenic game apparatus when erected or arranged for practical use; and the invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts and in numerous details thereof, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the annexed drawings,illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved seesaw. Fig. 2 is an enlarged end elevation of the same in partial section 011 the line as a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional elevation on the line 00' cc of Fig. 2, showing the form and location of the slots in the side uprights of the central supporting structure. Fig. 4 is a detail side view of the independent tripod device which is used to support one end of the seesaw at certain times. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional View showing the means for securing the step portion of said tripod device to the brace which holds it. Fig. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the means for connecting one of the underneath springs to the seesaw-board. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing the supporting-shaft and the arrangement of notches.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout all the different figures of the drawings.

The three main features of my improved seesaw are, first, the elongated supporting board, which provides seats at each end for the users of the toy; second, the central sup porting structure which upholds the board at a proper point near the middle of its length,

thus providing a fulcrum on which the board can have an alternate up-and-down or reciprocatory movement, and, third, an independent removable tripod-support, which can be placed underneath any point of the movable board for the purpose of holding the latter temporarily in a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 1, to permit the users of the device to mount it before beginning to operate it or for other purposes, and these three main parts are constructed and provided with numerous details and adjunctivc'parts, as I shall now describe.

Referring first to the central structure, which provides the fulcrum whereon the seesaw-board may vibrate, it will be seen that it consists of a base A, a pair of uprights B B, and a horizontal cross-beam 0, supported upon the upper ends of these uprights. The base A consists, preferably, of the two parallelbars a a, provided with feet, as shown, if desired, the pair of horizontal parallel bars a a, which rest upon the bars a a at right angles thereto and enter slots out in bars a a, being themselves rabbeted for the purpose of forming the connection, and these bars a a support at their middle point the transverse connecting-bar a which is rabbeted and which rests in slots cut in the bars a. a. (See Fig. 2.) This transverse bar a receives in slots cut therein the lower ends of the uprights B B. The upper beam 0 and the two bottom bars a a are provided at each end with eyebolts or other similar suitable equivalent devices, to which are connected the braces A, which securely connect the top and bottom portions of the central structure and maintain the uprights B B in a firm and solid perpendicular position.

D represents the elongated vibratory board of the seesaw. It may be of any suitable and preferable length, width, and other dimensions. It is provided on each side with the lateral cleats D, which are furnished on their lower edges at points somewhere near the center of the length of the board with rows of notches, preferably of curved or semicircular form (Z. In the drawings I have, for the sake of an example, represented rows'of' thirteen, which are numbered from 1 to 13. These notches permitan endwise adjustment of the board relatively to its support in order to suit diiferent weights on the different ends thereof.

Between the uprights B B is a horizontal support T, consisting of a short round shaft the ends of which are held in holes in the uprights B B. By reference to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the inner opposing sides of said uprights are provided with a series of inwardlycut slots Z). In Figv 3 I have shown three of these. A portionsay about halfof each slot at b is deeper than the other part. This permits the fulcrum-shaft T to be readily inserted by being thrust into the deepest portion 7) and then dropped into the lower parts of the slot, the inside faces of which are the same distance apart on the opposite uprights as the length of the shaft T. The provision of a series of openings 1) permits the short shaft T to be adjusted at the desired height to allow of a greater or less vibration of the seesaw-board. After the said board has been once placed in position between the uprights B Bit will be noted that its height can be changed Whenever desired without removing it from such position, the change being effected by allowing one end to rest upon the tripod-support, while the other end is lifted and the supporting shaft T readjusted in different holes. The notches d engage the shaft T. Said shaft is formed with an enlargement at the middle portion thereof, which rests between the lateral flanges D D, thus accomplishing a better connection between the see saw-board and the shaft and permitting an easier movement of the two in conjunction with each other when the device is in actual operation. It will be evident that the connection between the notched sides of the board and the shaft T is a gravity connection merely and that the board can easily be lifted whenever desired.

At each end of the board D is a seat-back G, which is hinged to the horizontal bar It, supported on uprights H II, which are fastened in any desirable way to the ends of the board D.

grasped whenever it is desired to move the seesaw up and down by hand. The seat-backs G can be adjusted at any desired inclination by means of their hinged connection in order to suit the user. It will be evident that a child may be seated upon each end of the board D with his or her back against the part G.

The oscillating or vibratory seesaw-board it provided on its under side with inclined fiat springs, which are designed to strike the floor as the seesaw vibrates, and thus cause a rebound or cushion and make elastic the movement of the device. These springs may vary widely in their construction. I prefer ably make them of a thin, flat, tough, and elastic strip of Wood E, tipped at its lower end with a rubber orother elastic tip 6 These springs E are preferably reinforced by similar shorter strips E, which lie along the upper half-sec- The ends of the bars h are formed with handles, so that they may be readily tion thereof. The upper ends of the springs E and their conjunctive reinforcing-strips E are securely fastened to the board D by means of bolts e or in any other suitable way, and I also preferably employ other bolts 6, which pass through short transverse strips 6 which are secured to the under edges of the sides D, and which bolts 6 are provided with nuts 6 and also with washers which bind against the springs and securely hold them. Thus it will be seen that the springs are held at all points, to wit: first, their upper extreme ends, and second, at points a short distance below those points. It will be evident that as the seesaw vibrates up and down the rubber-tipped ends of the springs will touch the floor and assist in making the movement of the device easy, pleasant, and efficient.

The board D is provided at points near each end thereof with foot-supporting frames consisting of vertical bars J J, situated on the outside faces of the flanges D, which bars J J are connected together at the top by a crosspiece L, While the lower ends of bars J are provided with the horizontal rods K, which are rounded and afford nice supports for the feet of the child who may be seated upon the board D, said rounded bars K being supported on bolts that pass through them and through the lower ends of the bars J. The bars J are also connected by means of a bolt M, situated a little below the connection L, said bolt being provided on its outer screw-threaded end with a thumb-nut m, which can be screwed up so as to tightly clamp the bars J to the sides D of the seesaw-board. Small semicircular blocks a rest upon the upper face of the board D and through them pass the bolt M, and these blocks serve to keep the bars J in a vertical position when the clamping process is going on. Thus it will be seen that these foot-supporting frames, constructed substantially in the manner that I have described, can be adjusted from point to point upon the seesaw-board so as to permit of their location either nearer to or farther away from the seat-backs G.

F F designate cords, ropes, or cables, which are provided at their ends with adjustable handles I, which are easily grasped by the hand of the child or person using the apparatus, and the opposite endsof these ropesare provided with snap-hooks, which engage an eyebolt on the upper cross-bar C of the central supporting structure of the apparatus. The child. by pulling upon the rope can operate the device- The independent tripod structure, to which I have hereinabove referred as being valuable for use for various purposes in supporting one end of the vibratory board at certain times, is shown in detail in Fig. 4, and also appears clearly in Fig. 1, and it consists of three bars N and O 0, said bars 0 O beingpivotedto the bar N at a short distance below the upper end thereof, which is formed as a handle N. To the bar N, near the lower end thereof, is pivoted a horizontal bar P, which has its opposite end connected to a cross-bar P, which connects the two bars 0 0. Of course all these parts are readily separable from each other when desired for the purpose of taking the apparatus apart. R designates a fiat horizontal step having the downward extension S formed with an inclined edge, which permits it to be seated upon the edge of the inclined bar N. The opposite edge of the bar N has located against it a block Q, provided with a small projection or lug g, which enters a corresponding notch in the bar N. Loops r and .9 connect these parts together, all as clearly shown in Fig. 5, and it will be noted that the link 8 passes through a perforation in the extension S, so that it is permanently connected to the extension S, and its free end is adapted to pass over the lower pointed end of the block Q and enter a notch in the edge thereof. The other link 7" passes through aperforation in the block Q, near the upper end thereof, and is thereby permanently connectcd to the block Q, while its free end engages a notch in the step B. By lifting the step R the links can be thrown loose, so that those parts may all be slid off from the bar N. They are readily fixed in position, however, upon said bar by causing the lug q to enter its notch or hole and then depressing the step R as much as possible and causing the links to assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, after which a small screw 5' is preferably inserted into the under side of the step R for the purpose of holding the link 7 in immovable position.

The operation of the apparatus will be evident from the foregoing description of the construction without need of further explanation, and, also, it will be noted that various parts of the device may be modified in form and location and adaptation without departing from the invention, and I reserve the liberty of va rying the combination of parts in numerous details in order to cause it to serve the best practical use in various locations.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a seesaw, the combination of the central support consisting of the base A, the uprights B B, the upper cross connecting-bar O, and the adjustable fulcrum T, which is supported in slots in the inner opposing faces of the uprights B B, the Vibrating board D, and the foot-supporting frames provided thereon, consisting of the side bars J J and foot-supports K K, carried thereby, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the board D and its support, of the foot-supporting frames consisting of the vertical side bars J J, connection L, foot supports K K, carried by thelower ends of the bars J, and clamping-bolt M, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in seesaw apparatus, with the vibrating board thereof, of foot-supporting frames consisting of the side bars J J, connected by the upper rod L, said bars carrying at their lower ends the foot-supporting bars K K and the clamping-bolt M, and the hinged seat-backs G G, carried by the horizontal handle-ended bars h, mounted on uprights H, supported on the ends of the board D, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES J. HATCH.

Witnesses:

JAMES BENNY, ROBERT E. NAYLOR. 

